Unleash the Power of the Mind!

 Creativity continues to be under-valued in our world. Yes a broad statement, but if you’re looking at making a living from your art, then you’re probably going to be in for a challenging time. 10CC’s famous lyrics ‘Art for art’s sake, money for god’s sake’, aptly sum up the difficulty of being creative and getting paid for it. As an artist and musician on-and-off for many years, I too have struggled with this dilemma: is my creativity – art – worth money? How do I measure the worth of my creativity? Why would someone want to pay for my art? What am I getting from doing this?

 Sting once said something that stayed with me…’making music is your best reward’. Something like that, which I took to mean that the music created is the reward itself. Well, I love creating, but I need to pay the bills, which is the dilemma…ergo the common saying upon musos: get a day job!

However, having said that, being creative does have other rewards beside the ’outcome’ or product itself…and no it’s not money…read on.

 “Are there still original ideas in the world?”
“They beat me to that bright idea; what else can I do?”
“I’ve failed many times before that I can’t think of anything else to solve this problem anymore.”

These statements reflect the thought of an individual who has given up on creativity. Sadly, a lot of people share this way of thinking. They never viewed creativity as a very useful tool to improve or improvise in life in all its diversity.

A situation that requires a solution can be approached in a variety of ways. There isn’t a single way fix to a problem. Being creative opens new horizons and can deliver many benefits. Creativity can sometimes be mistakenly interpreted as an obstinate attitude. Some people think that insisting on doing things in a different way is a sign of stubbornness.

Never hold back a good idea. Everyone is free to interpret his own unique way. Any interpretation by itself is creativity at work. A person who enjoys creative thinking can easily come up with innovative solutions for situations that require a quick fix.

For instance, your car got stalled on a deserted highway due to a leaky rubber hose on the cooling system. Tough luck! Of all places, it had to happen in the remotest places.

If you have some chewing gum in your pocket, it just might be a handy fix. Start chewing the gum and patch it on the leak. To keep the gum in place, tie it with a piece of rag. This quick fix might do the trick so you can drive several miles without an overheated engine, until you get to a service station to have the leaky hose replaced.

There used to be a television series entitled “MacGyver.” The main character is an extremely creative and crafty guy. Whenever he finds himself in a tight fix, he tries to find a way out of it with his quick fixes utilizing available materials around him.

In a way, creativity is a never-ending learning process. From learning, you gain untold benefits, which you can use in real life situations.

Being creative might require you to think out-of-the-box, venturing your mind into the uncommon. You can never be sure of your ideas until you try them. As long as there is no perceived danger involved, it is always worth a try.

Inventions are products of creative minds. The field of science, in whatever branch you may touch on, is invention itself. Without creative minds, science would have been a forlorn field of knowledge.

It must be noted that most adaptations to improve or improvise are aimed at improving current conditions. Upon analyzing honest applications of creativity, the ultimate intention is to achieve good for all and the will to build lasting peace. After all, this intention is what counts most.

Erich Fromm spelled it out clearly, “The conditions for creativity are: to be puzzled, to concentrate, to accept conflict and tension, to be born everyday, and to feel a sense of self.”

 All the best

Alan

 PS: okay, so money is important to survive, but you want to be creative too? Take this quick quiz to see if you have what it takes to be rich…ie, the Mindset! SUCCESS UPGRADE

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How does music help you? I’d like to ask you how – if at all – music has helped you in some way?

Current research shows that many people – including cancer patients and children with ADD/HD and autism , depression and anxiety etc- have experienced the healing benefits of music when used in conjunction with, or as an alternative to – traditional treatment programs.

Music/sounds can slow the heart rate thus assisting with stress and anxiety. Music has also been found to bring such as lowering blood pressure – which can also reduce the risk of stroke and other health problems over time – boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and more. In short, music and certain sounds can have a powerful influence on the health of our bodies and psyche.

In addition, research has shown that music and/or sounds – eg nature sounds – can stimulate brain waves to higher levels of concentration and altertness, or to calmer meditative states…and that these states continue for a time after the particular music stops.

When I worked as a music therapist for Red Cross, I witnessed the receptiveness of patients in various hospitals, towards music programs: people suffering from senile dementia benefited from movement, social interaction, singing – breath work – stimulation of memories from familar sounds; autistic patients became more receptive with the use of Pentatonic scales; older people in repatriation hospitals cheered up with songs from a more familar era; and brain-damaged patients visibly relaxed more.

Music first gave me a direction in my life and thus gave me a sense of meaning and purpose at a time when I was searching for an identity and feeling aimless.

So how has music helped you? Please post your experiences.

All the best

Alan

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amadavit - electronic music production

Hi again.

Well, it’s been some time coming, but I’ve finally put a site together that will feature music and it’s health benefits: http://amadavitmusic.com (amadavit is my trading name in case you’re wondering).

Music has been close to my heart for over 30 years now and it was during my art college days that I discovered music being used is different ways and for different reasons. I started listening to the so-called  ’new age’ artists of the time – 80’s – and explored art and music therapy. Having played in rock bands for nearly 10 years previoius to this, I was most motivated to develop a deeper understanding of how music affects mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and yes, even sexaul states. I wanted to find out how music can heal the soul, as opposed to disturbing it- not that I’m saying that rock music necessarily does this.

The light/shadow side – yin/yang, life/death, eros/thanatos/good evil etc – is a constant dichotomy in any culture, although symbolic representation differs. Of course, this is no different in art/music forms expressed by us humans, who perceive this and the continuum along which these ‘opposites’ lie.

So it is claimed  that music and art can represent these underlying energies in their many different forms and it is argued that these forms can ‘influence’ the viewer accordingly; ie, shape their states of being. I know for myself, that there are certain movies, books, music, environments and art,  where I have found myself feeling depressed, disturbed, frightened and shocked…and other forms where I have felt elated, inspired, happier and more powerful (not to mention forms where I have felt just indifferent).

Of course we are trained to ‘read’ this culture and I guess depending upon our own ’sensitivity’, background, interest and education, we will react in our individual ways. I used to think that art should be about raising our awareness and should have an aesthetic core in mind…and also be functional at times. However art and music is essentially about reaction. I would generalise and say that most artists want their public to react…either positively or negatively to their expressions – indifference is of no use to an artist.

Okay, I’ve got a lot to talk about with this subject, but I don’t want to post something too long. Suffice it to say, it has long been an aim of mine to create music as an art form that also inspires, heals, provides interest – story telling in audio – and accompanies people’s creative and perhaps spiritual journeys. That’s my intention. So if you get a chance, have a look at http://amadavitmusic.com and let me know what you think and/or feel. If you can comment then it would be great to hear from you as indifference isolates us all.

Creatively yours

Alan

1. Dream Your Heart’s Desire

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